GOP Chances for Senate Rise But Nominees Must Stay Conservative

The new theme that conservatives and Republicans will start to read and hear about in the coming months will be that the GOP is so terribly divided that it won't be able to win critical races for control of the U.S. Senate in November. That theme will be not just inaccurate, but childlike wishful thinking by those who espouse it.

Yes, there will be the sting of defeat in razor-thin contests similar to that between Sen. Thad Cochran and his runoff opponent, Chris McDaniel in Mississippi. And there should be. Cochran won primarily because of that state's open primary system that allowed some Democrats to cross over and support the longtime senator. But McDaniel was viewed by nearly half of that primary's electorate as a fresh-faced and more conservative alternative to Cochran, who in recent years had become too immersed in the politics of pork and appeasement.

But time heals many wounds in politics and often more swiftly than in other walks of life. After all, young politicians like McDaniel have future races to run. And Sen. Cochran has undoubtedly run his last race for a GOP nomination. The big names, like former Gov. Sarah Palin, who took on the establishment in Mississippi by supporting McDaniel, will undoubtedly be pitching for Cochran in defeating his Democratic opponent.

Why? Because as of now it looks like the GOP might kick the door in and take control of the U.S. Senate.

That would mean no more listening to the whiny and arrogant whisperings of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. And it would mean that what now appear to be simply idle threats on policy coming from a Republican-controlled House of Representatives would become serious business with a Republican-controlled Senate. It would be a GOP-led body that could hoist Reid and his fellow Democrats on their own petard of new Senate rules, which were designed to allow a simple majority of members to rule the roost.

But before such a fundamental shift in power can occur, prior theories put forth by both Democrats and many in the media must be put to rest. Let's start with the makeup of the showdowns that will now take place in the states with competitive U.S. Senate contests.

The general notion and wishful thinking of the Democrats and their supporters in media was that a collection of zany and unseasoned GOP nominees would create a perfect storm: Democrats, otherwise put at a disadvantage because of an unpopular President Barack Obama, would be able to appeal to moderately conservative independent voters, who might fear these "unknown" GOP nominees.